IRON & STEAM

Gunfire Summary

1. Phase 1Write Orders

2. Phase 2Small Arms Fire & Boarding Actions
3. Phase 3Repairs, Unfouling, Refloating
4. Phase 4Movement
5. Phase 5Ramming
6. Phase 6Gunfire

penetration value is twice the armor value then one armor point and
one hull point are removed, etc., up to the maximum damage of the
attacking gun.
If the penetration value is less than the hull armor then roll the
penetration value or less on a 10 sided die to remove one armor
point from the hull.
Major HitsIf a major hit is scored the percentile dice are rolled
again and the following chart is consulted:

Does the shot hit?

Range:

Short

Medium

Long

Extreme

Distance

15"

30"

60"

100"

Smooth Bores

60%

33%

17%

10%

Rifles

70%

43%

27%

15%

Hit Location
01-55

56-70

71-85

86-95

96-00

Casemate/
Turret

Engine

Hull

Major

Critical

If the target is unarmored and unarmed then a roll of 01-55 is

considered a hull hit. If the target is unarmored but armed
then a roll of 01-55 is considered a gun major hit. If the target
has no speed pints then a roll of 56-70 is considered a hull hit.
All successful shots on a fort are considered casemate/turret
hits except critical hits. Critical hits are resolved as automatic
gun major hits.
Casemate/Turret HitsIf the penetration value of the gun is
greater than or equal to the armor value of the target, the
target will lose one armor point and a roll is made on the gun
major hit table. The attacker adds the difference between the
penetration value of the attackers gun and the armor value of
the target to the roll on the gun major hit chart. For example, If
the penetration value of the gun is 10 and the armor value of
the target is 7, then 3 will be added to the attackers roll. Every
functional gun in the targets casemate has an equal chance of
being hit.
If the penetration value is less than the armor value then there
is still a chance of removing an armor point. If the attacker can
roll of the penetration value or less on a 10 sided die then
the armor of the casemate or turret is reduced by one point on
the side facing the attacker.
Engine HitsIf the penetration value is greater than or equal
to the hull armor then one armor point is removed. If the
penetration value is twice the armor value then one armor and
one speed point are removed. If the penetration value is three
times the armor value then one armor point and two speed
points are removed. Think of this as how many times the shot
can penetrate the armor. The shot will do one point of damage
for each time it can penetrate. The first damage point must be
an armor point to the location. No shot can do more than the
maximum damage of the attacking gun.
If the penetration value is less than the hull armor then roll
the penetration value or less on a 10 sided die to remove one
armor point from the hull.
Hull HitsIf the penetration value is greater than or equal to
the hull armor then one armor point is removed. If the

Major Hits Chart

Stack

Steering

Pilot

Engines

Guns

Equipment

01-15

16-35

36-39

40-64

65-89

90-00

Roll percentile dice on the appropriate chart. If the damage would be

non-applicable (e.g., rolling a pivot gun jam on a gun that is not a
pivot gun) then the hit converts to the next highest on the chart.
1. If the Major Hit is on the stackOne stack is carried away.
Once all stacks have been destroyed then the ships maximum
speed will be halved. If the ship has no stacks then this is
considered a mast hit. In the case of a mast hit, roll percentile dice:
1-50

Mast falls to port. Due to the increased drag in the water, the ships speed
will be reduced by 3" each turn. The ships maximum speed will be reduced
to of normal. It takes two turns to clear away the damage. If the top masts
and sails are in place the ships current speed is reduced by 4" each turn and
it will take five turns to clear away the wreckage. if the ship was moving
under sails the fallen sails will also mask all firing to port.

51-00

Mast falls to starboard. Same as above but to the starboard side of the ship.

2. If the Major Hit is on the steering, roll percentile dice

1-30

Rudder is jammed straight. 25% chance to repair

31-55

Rudder is jammed to port: the ship must make a port turn until fixed. There
is a 25% chance to fix during the repair phase

56-80

Rudder is jammed to starboard. 25% chance to repair.

81-95

Tiller ropes shot away: The ship must continue its present course until fixed.
There is a 20% chance to fix during the repair phase.

96-00

Rudder post shot away: Screw and sailing ships must move straight ahead
until the crew can jury-rig a makeshift rudder. There is a 15% chance to get
the makeshift rudder in place. Once done, however, the ship can make turns
with a turning radius 3" larger than normal. Side-wheel paddle steamers that
have had their rudder shot away may make turns without a rudder with a
turning radius 2" larger than normal by reversing the direction of one of their
paddle-wheels. Double-Enders reverse direction and operate as normal. If
they receive this hit a second time they operate as a normal ship without a
rudder.

3. If the Major Hit is on the pilot houseIf the shot penetrates

the pilot house armor then the pilot is out of commission for 2-5
turns. The ship must continue on its present course and there is no
communication with other ships until the pilot house is reestablished. If the shot does not penetrate the pilot house armor
then the same restrictions apply but only for 1-2 turns.

4. If the Major Hit is on the engines(disregard any armor

protection the engines may have):
1-25

Boiler fires out. The ships speed will be decreased by 2" next turn.
Essentially the ship has no power for one turn so it cannot increase
speed to offset this decrease.

26-52 Boiler Hit: Boiler damaged, the ship fills with steam, no firing for 2
turns. Maximum speed is reduced to 75% for the rest of the game.
Take 1-10 crew hits.
53-72 Boiler Hit: Boiler damaged, 25% chance of boiler exploding any turn
ship travels at 50% or more of available maximum speed any time
during the rest of the game. If this hit is repeated then the boilers are
destroyed but there is no explosion.
72-90 Boiler Hit: Boiler damaged, the ship fills with steam, no firing for 2
turns. Boiler fires are out, no power next turn, maximum speed
reduced to 25% for the rest of the game. Take 1-10 crew hits.
91-95 Engines Destroyed: No power for the rest of the game. The ship will
coast to a stop and then begin drifting downstream.
96-00 Boiler explodes: Ship fills with steam, no firing for 2 turns, no power for
the rest of the game, ship takes 15 points of hull damage from
exploding boiler.

5. If the Major Hit is on a gun(disregard any armor

protection the guns may have) Roll a die to determine which
gun is affected. Every functional gun will have an equal chance
of being hit. This chart is also consulted in unarmored
casemate/turret and penetrated casemate/turret hits. In the
case of unarmored gun hits add the penetration value of the
firing gun:
01-20 Shutter Jammed: No firing out of this port until it is repaired. There is a
35% chance of repairing the port each turn during the repair phase. In
addiction, take 1 crew hit. If the gun is in an earthen fort, it is
destroyed. Each adjacent gun in the fort must roll its armor value or
less to fire the next time it is eligible to fire. The roll is made when
attempting to fire.

Critical HitsRoll on the following chart and apply the result found
in the Major Hit description. In addition the ship takes 5 hull points of
damage. A critical hit on a fort will destroy the gun it hit and one of
the guns adjacent to it. The entire fort will be silenced for the next 15 turns.
Critical Hits
Steering

Pilot

Engines

Gun

Magazine

01-24

25-39

40-64

65-94

95-00

7. If the Critical Hit is on the Magazineroll percentile dice:

1-67

Powder room filled with water, of ammunition destroyed. (If you are not
keeping track of ammunition, increase the rate of fire of all guns by one turn
to simulate the increased difficulty in getting powder and projectiles to the
guns.) If this hit is repeated then all remaining ammunition is destroyed.

68-00 Magazine explodes: ship destroyed. Any ship within 6" must check for fires
as if hit with shell.

Damage Application
Unless stated otherwise in the rules, damage done to a ship is not
applied until the end of the turn in which the damage occurs.
Loss of all GunsIn general, the loss of all guns does not effect a
vessel. The one exception to this rule is when a vessel has no guns
and no crew points. In this situation, the vessel must withdraw from
combat at its top speed towards its point of entry on the gaming
table.
Loss of all Crew factorsOnce all crew factors are destroyed
certain situations have automatic results:

21-45 Turret or Pivot Mechanism Jammed: Guns can be fired but not rotated.
During any turn in which this gun is not fired an attempt can be made
to repair the pivot or turret. (Note that no guns can be fired out of a
turret that is being repaired). There is a 25% chance of repairing a
turret and a 40% chance of repairing a pivot. Take 1 crew hit.

Being disarmed (except for howitzers and field guns) results in retreat at top speed.

46-60 Gun Crew Suppressed: The next firing of this gun is delayed by one
turn. Take 1 crew hit.

Being boarded by an enemy results in surrender.

61-70 Sighting Mechanism Shot Away: Rate of fire for this gun is permanently
increased by one turn (i.e., 1:1=1:2, 1:2=1:3 etc.).

Being on fire with less than a 25% chance of putting out the fire and having no speed
points results in abandonment of the vessel.

A penetrating pilothouse hit results in retreat at top speed.

Being aground and under fire results in surrender.

Drifting towards the enemy and under fire results in surrender.

71-95 Gun Dismounted: useless for the rest of the game.

96-00 Available Powder Explodes: Gun is destroyed, no firing of any guns
next turn, 1-10 points hull damage done to the ship.

6. If the Major Hit is on the equipmentShip takes 2 hull

points and 2 additional crew points of damage. In addition, roll
percentile dice:
1-5

Captains good tableware destroyed (12 place settings)

6-15

Flag shot away (unlimited supply)

16-30 Spar Torpedo destroyed (1 maximum)

31-70 Boat destroyed (4 maximum)
71-00 Anchor destroyed (2 maximum)

Loss of all Speed PointsCurrent speed will be reduced by 2"

each turn until the ship comes to a stop. A ship which has lost all its
speed points is dead in the water and will begin drifting unless
anchored.
Loss of all Hull Points(Otherwise known as sinking). When a
ship has lost all its hull points it is considered destroyed. The hull no
longer has enough integrity to remain afloat. The crew will abandon
ship and will not continue to fight. The vessel will remain afloat for 1
turn for every 3 hull points it had at the beginning of the turn in
which it reached zero hull points. Any vessel which remains fouled
with a sunken vessel will lose 3 hull points per turn until it too is
drug under.
WrecksIt should be noted that unless the battle is taking place on
the open seas, the hulk of a sunken ship should remain as a hazard
to navigation. If another vessel crosses over the sunken vessel, the
player rolls a d10. The player should then check for grounding as if
his ship was that number of inches from shore. Once discovered, the
grounding level of a wreck will remain the same for the duration of
the game.